I have some alarming news for you- in exactly one month from now I will turn 30. 30 days till 30. I'll be okay. Mostly. I think I would feel a whole lot better if you all sent me presents.

And completely unrelated to my impending doom birthday, here is an excerpt from Jan Wong's China, just because I find it amusing:

As a reporter, guanxi [China's system of networking and connections that supersedes official channels] was particularly invaluable. I soon learned to rely on the network of friends and contacts I had developed during my earlier years in China. Doing things officially was basically a complete waste of time.
While most foreigners could travel freely through most of China, journalists had to apply for permission to go anywhere. Every Chinese organization, every province, city, county and town had a Foreign Affairs Office. They handled interview requests and, indignity of indignities, sometimes even charged for their "service."
I once requested to go to Canton, mecca of China's open-door economy. Its Foreign Affairs Office telexed me that everyone, all six million residents, were too busy to handle a visit. When I applied to go to Tibet, its Foreign Affairs Office turned me down. Lhasa, it explained, didn't have "enough oxygen."